Transcript Highlights:

• And you need different skills, right?
• It is invisible labor that no one sees.
• That it is invisible for labor that no one sees.
• For the cost of care model, for labor that no one sees.
• In reality, the providers are sustaining a community and sacrifice and labor just like us.

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Child Care Costs held its third hearing, focused on how transitional kindergarten (TK) fits into California’s mixed-delivery early learning system, with an emphasis on the Central Valley. Opening remarks stressed that TK and child care should complement each other, not compete, and that families need both part-day school-based options and full-day, year-round care. Committee members outlined hearing goals around aligning TK with existing programs, understanding family needs, and examining the economic impact of early learning on workforce participation and local economies. Panelists from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, Every Child California, Early Edge, Children Now, and others described TK’s rapid expansion to all four-year-olds, the growth in enrollment, and related changes to state preschool and after-school programs. Witnesses generally supported TK but warned that its expansion has shifted enrollment away from community-based providers, especially centers and family child care homes, creating financial strain, vacant classrooms, and staffing challenges. They urged stronger partnerships between school districts and community providers, more flexible licensing and facilities support, higher and more uniform reimbursement rates, permanent authority for state preschool to serve two-year-olds, and better compensation and training for educators across settings. Parents and providers testified about the importance of trusted, culturally and linguistically responsive care, the need for infant-toddler and home-based options, and the difficulty of affording child care when TK is not full-day or does not fit family schedules. Several speakers emphasized that many families still face long waits for subsidies and that reimbursement and payment delays threaten provider stability. Public comment echoed these concerns, with providers calling for true cost-of-care rates, more vouchers, support for transportation and nontraditional hours, and protection from insurance and facility costs that can force programs to close. State education officials said California’s UPK system works best when TK, state preschool, Head Start, and community-based providers are treated as a shared system, and noted that planning and implementation grants and local coordination efforts have helped build mixed-delivery partnerships. The hearing ended without formal votes or actions, but committee members indicated they would continue gathering input to inform future policy and budget decisions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Skills-based education provides learners of all ages with career-ready skills, giving individuals the
• Skills-based education and CTE programs.
• A highly skilled resource, its people.
• His debate skills were second violence.
• </c><09:11:47.918><c> Caucus</c> Caucus Vice Chair and a Labor Caucus Caucus Vice Chair and a Labor Caucus

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Deep gratitude for your time and your skill and your willingness to serve the people of New Mexico in
• Carson is learning a variety of new skills in 4-H such as public speaking, baking, and sewing.
• Through her years and four years, Skills in animal care, responsibility, and sportsmanship.
• He wants to use his leadership skills to make a positive difference in his community. Mr.
• He wants to use his leadership skills to make a positive difference in his community. Mr.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day weekend and holiday, and it's wonderful to see so many of our
• I'm the research director at Community Labor United, and we unite unions and community organizations
• So it is about providing more choice for parents, but it is also about really recognizing the labor that
• requiring a minimum of a bachelor's degree for teachers so that educators have the knowledge and skills
• to reduce the need for reactive skills.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held its sixth public hearing and took testimony on a large slate of bills, with the chair moving H. 542/S. 341 on family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) child care to the top of the agenda so young constituents would not have to wait. Witnesses from labor, community organizations, and FFN providers strongly supported the bill, saying FFN care fills critical gaps for families working nonstandard hours, especially in low-income, immigrant, and BIPOC communities. Testimony emphasized that FFN providers are currently underpaid, often receive only about $24 per child per day, and should be guaranteed at least the state minimum wage. Witnesses also backed changes to the voucher system to allow families to combine formal and FFN care more flexibly, and they supported creating an FFN advisory council. Committee members asked about the difference between FFN and center-based care, registration requirements, fingerprinting/background checks, EEC’s ongoing study group, and the fiscal impact; witnesses said the current annual cost is about $1.8 million and could rise to about $6 million if all current FFN providers were paid minimum wage, still under 1% of the EEC budget. The committee then closed testimony on that bill. The committee next heard testimony on several preschool and universal pre-K bills, including H. 707 on public preschool facilities, H. 687/S. 339 on universal pre-K and mixed delivery, and related bills such as H. 606, H. 523, H. 618, H. 522, H. 510, and H. 615, many of which were later closed without additional witnesses. A Lowell school official testified that space and facilities funding are major barriers to expanding preschool and that the city has hundreds of children on voucher waitlists. Other witnesses and organizations, including the Early Care and Education Consortium and AFT Massachusetts, supported mixed-delivery universal pre-K and warned that public-school expansion should not undermine community-based providers, whose preschool tuition helps subsidize infant and toddler care. Several witnesses also urged stronger standards for preschool teachers, better staffing ratios, and more integrated special education and support services. The committee accepted written testimony on some bills and closed testimony on the others when no one else came forward. A major portion of the hearing focused on H. 541/S. 373, which would ban school exclusion in pre-K through third grade. Advocates from Massachusetts Advocates for Children, Mass Appleseed, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, AFT Massachusetts, and the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee argued that suspensions and expulsions at young ages harm learning, worsen inequities, and contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. They cited data showing disproportionate impacts on Black and Latinx students, students with disabilities, and low-income children, and described personal stories of children whose behavior improved when schools kept them in class and addressed underlying needs. Committee members asked for updated data on the number of students and districts affected, and witnesses said they would provide more detailed written information. After testimony on this and a few other bills, including S. 372, S. 357, and H. 275/S. 133, the committee closed testimony and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The hospital wanted to discharge me to a skilled nursing facility.
• The hospital considered discharging him to a skilled nursing facility.
• The hospital considered discharging him to a skilled nursing facility.
• On average, a skilled nursing facility costs the state of California $137,000 per year.
• A skilled nursing facility costs the state of California $137,000 per year.

Summary: The joint informational hearing focused on the impact of H.R. 1 on older Californians and related county administration issues. Chair Jackson and Chair Addis opened by emphasizing California’s rapidly aging population and the need to protect seniors’ access to food, health care, housing, and in-home support services. Testimony from the Department of Social Services, Department of Health Care Services, and Department of Aging described how H.R. 1 would expand work and reporting requirements in CalFresh and Medi-Cal, increase redeterminations, and create new eligibility barriers. Witnesses and advocates warned that these changes could lead to large coverage losses, especially for adults ages 55 to 64, people experiencing homelessness, caregivers, and some immigrant groups, while also increasing administrative burden on counties. The LAO noted that many provisions do not directly apply to Californians 65 and older, but highlighted indirect effects and some direct impacts, including a new home equity limit for certain long-term care recipients and narrower immigration eligibility rules. Committee members pressed the administration and counties on how exemptions would be identified and implemented, whether data systems could automatically protect eligible people, and how outreach would reach older adults, women, LGBTQ seniors, and people with limited digital access. DHCS and CDSS said they are working to use existing data, cross-program information sharing, and human-centered communications to maximize exemptions and reduce churn, including text outreach, print and radio campaigns, and navigator support. Members also raised concerns about the need for legal aid and county eligibility workers to help people navigate complex rules, and requested updated analyses on the number of people likely to lose both Medi-Cal and CalFresh and the broader human and system impacts. No votes were taken. The second major topic was the administration’s proposal to shift some future IHSS costs to counties by establishing a statewide baseline for average authorized hours per case. CDSS said the proposal is intended to improve consistency in assessments and not reduce services, while counties and labor groups strongly opposed it, arguing that rising hours reflect real increases in need, an aging and higher-acuity caseload, and state-mandated assessment tools rather than county error. County representatives said the proposal would strain already limited local revenues, worsen the effects of H.R. 1, and could force cuts to other safety-net services. Committee members questioned the proposal’s timing and impact, but the hearing ended without action, with the chairs asking for continued updates, additional analysis, and more information before May Revision.

Transcript Highlights:

• And skilled nursing facilities care for about 40,000 patients a year that transition from hospitals,
• Valley, Colfax, and Clarkston, which represents 280 residents per day, 330 frontline employees, two labor
• I am the administrator of Alderwood Park Health and Rehab up in Bellingham, just one of the 194 skilled
• I am the executive director at Enumclaw Health and Rehabilitation, and we're a skilled rural nursing
• Last year, the legislature allocated critical Medicaid funding to support frontline caregivers in skilled

Bills: HB2289

Keywords: appropriations, budget, fiscal matters, state spending, general fund, supplemental budget, biennial budget, substitute bill, public defense, civil legal aid, courts, judicial branch, homelessness, supportive housing, affordable housing, behavioral health, juvenile rehabilitation, youth services, child welfare, foster care

Transcript Highlights:

• We know this project labor agreement will ensure that labor is adequately sourced, attracted, and retained
• in an extremely tight labor market.
• The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was built 100% with project labor agreements.
• We know this project labor agreement will ensure that labor is adequately sourced, attracted, and retained
• in an extremely tight labor market.

Keywords: 905, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She seemed to struggle with basic tasks involving her motor skills.
• to hold that skill level.
• </c><00:25:02.399><c> level</c> for clinicians to hold that skill level for clinicians to hold that skill
• One of the most challenging service lines in rural Minnesota is labor and delivery.
• One of the most challenging service lines in rural Minnesota is labor and delivery.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• When labor begins, I arrive with a skilled team of multiple midwives, lifesavers...
• In July of 2023, I labored for... 60 hours.
• Part of my whole labor delivery experience, the hospital reported that.
• I was already in labor for approximately 16 hours.
• My labor had stopped progressing, and I was also leaking meconium.

Bills: HB3772, HB1656, HB4504, HB1896, HB4420, HB4421, HB4076, HB3708, HB2806, HB3540, HB1586, HB5459, HB4553, HB4535, HB3811, HB3749, HB4255, HB4051, HB5098, HB3554, HB4539, HB5274

Keywords: e-cigarettes, health and safety, regulations, directory, penalties, regulation, certification, compliance, manufacturers, FDA, nicotine, mental health, emergency detention, paramedic authority, mental illness, healthcare facility, public health, covenants not to compete, health care practitioners, physicians

Transcript Highlights:

• how do we protect the labor and the broader impact?
• do we protect the labor and the broader impact?
• do we protect the labor and the broader impact?
• do we protect the labor and the broader impact?
• What do we do with the labor transition, and how do we protect labor and the broader impacts of an industrial

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Hospitals across the state are closing labor and delivery units, and many communities are experiencing
• In obstetrics, this care often occurs in labor and delivery units, not just emergency rooms.
• When I'm on labor and delivery for a hospital shift, I'm responsible for caring for the low-risk laboring
• Evaluation of labor is part of EMTALA care and part of emergency services and care and the bread and
• , insurance, and rent, all increasing faster than revenue, creating sustained... ...labor, insurance,

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Deep gratitude for your time and your skill and your willingness to serve the people of New Mexico in
• Carson is learning a variety of new skills in 4-H such as public speaking, baking, and sewing.
• Carson is learning a variety of new skills in 4-H such as public speaking, baking, and sewing.
• He wants to use his leadership skills to make a positive difference in his community. Mr.
• Leadership skills to make a positive difference in his community. Mr.

Summary: The Senate convened, established a quorum, offered an invocation and pledges, and then spent much of the session on ceremonial recognitions and guest introductions. Certificates and remarks highlighted the 30th anniversary of 529 education savings plans and 4-H Day, with senators praising 529 plans as a family education-savings tool and 4-H as a major youth leadership program in all 33 counties. Members also recognized Scouts in America, including Michaela Kern as the first female Eagle Scout from Eddy County, and heard additional presentations tied to New Mexico State University, the College Assistance Migrant Program, and regional councils of government. Several senators used the floor to introduce students and community members from across the state, especially 4-H participants, NMSU CAMP students, and local youth leadership groups. Comments emphasized agriculture, leadership development, public service, and the importance of volunteer support. One senator also raised concerns about a prior Indian Day incident involving the Navajo Nation being placed at the back for the pledge, urging better decorum and respect in the chamber. The Senate then processed a governor’s message authorizing Senate Bill 149 for consideration and adopted multiple committee reports moving bills and memorials through the process, including measures referred to education, health and public affairs, tax/business/transportation, rules, finance, and judiciary committees. The body also introduced Senate Memorials 24 and 25 and Senate Joint Memorial 4. A call of the Senate was ordered after objection to moving to third reading, and the sergeant-at-arms reported Senators Sanchez and Tobiassen missing; the chamber remained under call while other business continued. The session ended with committee schedule announcements and a recess until noon the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• , responsibility, and emotional labor required in this role.
• If they rupture during labor, your baby will bleed out and pass within minutes.
• So they were able to use their science skills and their math skills to help them in that process.
• I am teaching them all the soft skills, the educational skills, the leadership skills that it takes for
• I am teaching them all the soft skills, the educational skills, the leadership skills that it takes for

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We work out some arrangement for labor and delivery and some other things for hospital coverage, but
• </c> We work out some arrangement for labor We work out some arrangement for labor and<00:15:33.120><
• </c><00:15:49.800><c> and</c> Also, Department of Labor and Relations, Joan Bennett Hardy.
• And substance abuse has the skill set.
• We provide those coping skills, relapse skills.

Bills: HCR18, HCR32, HCR35, HCR105, HCR173

Keywords: hospice, health care, aging population, regulations, Medicare, working group, fraud prevention, quality of care, mental health, recidivism, civil commitment, Hawaii State Hospital, justice system, shelter, treatment pathways, biomarker testing, health insurance, precision medicine, healthcare access, medical necessity

Summary: The committee heard testimony on SCR 21 SD1, which asks Hawaii Health Systems Corporation’s East Hawaii Regional Health Care System to study the feasibility of a rural health clinic or similar access point for the Volcano community. Testimony in strong support came from HHSC representatives, Volcano residents, the Volcano Health Collaborative, the Rotary Club of Volcano, and others, who said the area has a clear need and that local primary and urgent care would align with regional plans. HHSC said it had already looked at the area, found no suitable temporary buildings, and would need a longer-term, capital-intensive solution, but that the study could help accelerate next steps. The committee then took up SCR 50 SD1, proposing a Hawaii Health Plan Working Group to design a basic affordable health plan for residents. Dr. Jack Lewin of SHIPTA said the state faces a growing uninsured population and argued for a short-term, lower-cost plan focused on preventive and primary care, drawing on the old State Health Insurance Plan as a possible model. Members asked about whether that prior program still exists and whether the working group should include the Hawaii Medical Association and Hawaii Primary Care Association; Dr. Lewin said the statute still exists but is unfunded, and that the group should be inclusive. The Department of Labor and other organizations also provided comments. For SCR 75 SD1, which urges a coordinated interdepartmental effort to reduce fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Dr. Lewin and others said prevention, prenatal screening, and early intervention are needed because FASD is often hidden until later problems appear. Amanda from Hawaii FASD Action Group said current implementation under Act 192 is still largely a landscape analysis and that Hawaii lacks the infrastructure and specialists for a full system. Darlene Chance Govor urged adding the judiciary as a partner so juvenile justice and probation staff can be trained and referral pathways improved, while the Department of Health said it supports prevention but prefers a broader, systems-based approach focused on child needs and upstream care. The Disability Rights Center supported the resolution and asked for an earlier reporting date. The committee also heard SCR 149 SD1, which seeks an informal working group to address complex patients with multiple diagnoses involving substance use, mental health, or chronic physical illness. The Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition and Ke Nui Malo strongly supported the measure, saying current siloed systems leave people bouncing between medical, mental health, and substance use providers without coordinated care, often ending up in crisis, emergency rooms, or the justice system. They said integrated residential care and a coordinated working group could improve outcomes and align with federal funding opportunities. The transcript ended before any final vote or action on the measures was announced, and SCR 109 was noted as withdrawn from the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• . $250 will also be paid for a complete employment skills certification and for one-half of a high school
• So one-half of high school credit, the employment skills certification, or an earned workforce credential
• All right, members, we're going to item eight on the agenda, Department of Labor and Licensing, Arkansas
• I'm the Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Labor and Licensing. Thank you, Parker.
• I'm the Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Labor and Licensing, which includes our State Board

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• technology skills.
• The National Skills to meet it.
• The National Skills Coalition found that workers with even one digital skill earn 23% more.
• So Madam Chair, that's our skills.
• </c> them to hire a teacher with a skill set. them to hire a teacher with a skill set.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Education met without a quorum, so the minutes were not approved. The main presentation was from retired economics professors John Garren and Dr. Kums, who discussed their Bluegrass Institute research on teacher compensation in Kentucky since the Kentucky Education Reform Act era. They said teacher base salaries, adjusted for inflation, have declined over the last decade, while state-paid “on-behalf” benefits such as pension and health insurance contributions have risen sharply; they argued total teacher compensation has increased modestly overall, but less than per-pupil funding. They also presented broader context on staffing growth, declining average daily attendance, Kentucky’s low share of teachers among total school staff, and flat or weak NAEP and ACT performance trends, including widening white-Black score gaps on NAEP. Members questioned the methodology and interpretation of the compensation figures. Representative Bojanowski argued the on-behalf calculations may overstate teacher compensation because they include insurance and pension costs that also benefit classified employees and retirees, and he asked for clarification on the denominator used to derive the per-teacher amount. Representative Truit said the presentation could be misleading if it implies teachers earn $94,000 in salary, and he objected to framing pension stabilization payments as teacher pay. The presenters responded that they were using total compensation, not salary alone, said they had divided total personnel-related on-behalf payments by the relevant staff count, and promised to review and send a technical explanation. Representative Truit and Chairman Typton both emphasized that compensation should be viewed as salary plus benefits, not salary alone, and noted that pension contributions are part of the cost of employing teachers. The presenters said their intent was to show the full compensation package and its relevance to labor supply and teacher shortages, not to claim that individual teachers earn the total compensation figure as salary. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond the decision to revisit the minutes at a later meeting due to the lack of quorum.

Transcript Highlights:

• The top three is always labor.
• And so when I talk about how we address the challenge of both land stewardship and loss of labor.
• And then Lastly, making sure that that labor is skilled in the work and that that eight-month course.
• And added to that, the skills are not. Very transferable.
• Being able to use those skills in Santa Fe, none of them might be transferable.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our highly skilled staff are certified hyperbaric technicians and nurses.
• </c> the joy of knowing them beyond skilled the joy of knowing them beyond skilled providers.<00:23:47.960
• After my scheduled and planned delivery did not go as expected, after 23 hours of labor, the medical
• ,</c> Elsa's mom to the phenomenal skill, Elsa's mom to the phenomenal skill, expertise,<00:25:36.840
• AFSCME is a public- and private-sector labor union.

Bills: HF4841, HF4234, HF3697

Keywords: Hennepin County, sales tax, health care facilities, ballpark improvements, tax revenue, HF4234, Minnesota private activity bonds, tax-exempt bonds, bond cap, aggregate bond limitation, residential rental projects, multifamily housing, affordable housing finance, housing bonds, public finance, bond allocation, private activity bond cap, Minnesota Statutes 474A.02, tax committee, tax refund

Transcript Highlights:

• In the age of AI, functional productivity skills are more important than ever.
• Employers and programs like the University of Washington expect these skills.
• Thank you for including partial funding for the skilled nursing rebase in fiscal year 27.
• We represent assisted living and skilled nursing providers.
• Many skilled nursing facilities will see risk.

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on the Senate operating budget proposal, beginning with a staff briefing from James Kettle. He described the budget as built on relatively flat revenue after multiple forecast updates, with substantial mandatory cost growth, especially in Health Care Authority, DSHS, and DCYF. He highlighted major policy-level additions and savings, including large tort liability costs, continued support for long-term services, reductions tied to child care and K-12 items, several assumed revenue bills, and major transfers from reserves and other accounts. Kettle also noted the four-year outlook remained positive overall, with about $1 billion ending fund balance in the final year and roughly $3 billion in total reserves. A committee member asked about a diagram showing the loss of federal funds, and staff said they would follow up. Public testimony then focused first on K-12 education, where school leaders, teachers, OSPI, PTA, and rural district representatives largely opposed the proposed cuts to local effort assistance, transition to kindergarten, bus depreciation, and related school funding items. Many argued the reductions would disproportionately harm rural and property-poor districts and weaken early learning access, while several students and educators spoke in favor of career and technical education and IT Academy funding. The committee also heard support for wildfire prevention funding from the Commissioner of Public Lands, who thanked the Senate for restoring those dollars but raised concerns about recreation program reductions. Higher education testimony was mixed but generally supportive of the Senate proposal compared with the governor’s budget. Community and technical college leaders warned that the budget still shifts compensation costs to tuition and reduces Running Start funding, while university representatives from Western, Eastern, Central, WSU, and UW thanked the committee for avoiding deeper cuts. Private vocational college students and administrators urged extension of Washington College Grant eligibility for students already enrolled, and others asked to preserve IT Academy and related certification funding. In early learning, child care and advocacy groups praised the decision not to cap Working Connections Child Care but warned that child care and transition to kindergarten still bear a disproportionate share of cuts; they also requested continued support for Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Pierce County early childhood programs, including Family Connects. The hearing continued with testimony on employee compensation, mental health, and human services. State employee and retiree groups supported the budget’s COLA and wildfire funding but objected to cuts in retiree health benefits. Behavioral health and public safety advocates supported mentoring, Trueblood-related funding, crisis stabilization, and the Recovery Navigator Program, while others opposed reductions to those programs and to community-based recovery services. In human services, witnesses thanked the committee for funding victim services, child welfare supports, health homes, adult day care, community health centers, energy assistance, and disability services, while urging the committee to avoid further reductions to skilled nursing, case management, and recovery navigation. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• The board is directed to meet at least quarterly and make recommendations to the Department of Labor
• I'm the state representative for the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor Management Association.
• skill conversion.
• , the term of re-enlistment, or skill conversion.
• For the record, Allison Ryan, staff to the Labor and Workplace Standards Committee.

Bills: HB1316, HB2401, HB2557, HB2720, HB1073, HB2685, HB2640, HB2403

Keywords: postsecondary education, homelessness, foster youth, education access, support programs, commission, gender equity, boys, men, advocacy, state policy, special education, parental rights, educational access, evaluation reports, disability services, behavioral health, emergency services, health insurance, provider access